Maryland Prepares For Wintry Mix

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — A wintry mix of snow and freezing rain fell across the region Monday night. The first flakes started to fall around 7:30 p.m. The snow immediately stuck to sidewalks and cars and even some roadways.

Anne Arundel County is planning to activate its emergency operations center at 5 a.m. Tuesday.

Kai Jackson has more on the concerns about the roadways.

Light snow started falling early Monday evening, the first part of an icy wintry mix forecasted for the region. Crews were out doing all they could to keep ice off the roads.

“It’s going to be mostly freezing precip, not a lot of snow, so when the salt hits the roads, it’s going to melt it and people are going to think, `Boy, it’s just water.’ It’s not. Temperatures are still going to be cold, there’s still going to be icy patches, so please, please exercise caution,” said Bob Rager, State Highway Administration.

Icy roads can be worse to drive in than snow-covered roads.

The other big concern is power outages and it’s not only tree branches and wind that could knock down power lines.

“As I understand it, there is a lot of ice involved, so when you have an ice event, you may have an occasional vehicle or two going into a pole or causing some other kind of damage that could cause power outages, so we certainly are prepared to address any power outages, however they may occur,” said BGE spokesperson Linda Foy.

For the very latest on this storm, make sure to tune into WJZ beginning at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday. Don and Marty will bring you the First Warning Forecast, plus the very latest on travel conditions and any school closings or delays.